Fraud preventive for coin-controlled vending-machines.



PATENTED OCT. 18, 1904.

- I M. HOFHEIMER. FRAUD PREVENTIVE FOR COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINES.

. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

w/(be Haida/6176a:-

. ylfiow auliwlz No. 772,512. I PATENTED OUT. 18, 1904.

M. HOFHEIMER. FRAUD PREVENTIVE FOR COIN GONTROLLEDEVENDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED I'EB.3, 1904. N0 MODEL.

74 Quantum.

UNITED STATES .Patented October 18, 1904.

, PATENT OFFICE.

MAURICE HOFHEIMER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES VENDING CORPORATION, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF MAINE.

.FRAUD PREVENTIVE FOR COIN-CONTROLLED VENDING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,512, dated October 18, 1904.

I Application filed February 3, 1904. Serial No. 191,891. (No model.)

T0 on whom, it may concern:

machines against fraudulent operation by the" use of spurious devices and whichwill permit the operation of the machine only upon the introduction of legitimate coin of proper value.

Further objects are to provide improved means for preventing the fraudulent manipulation of the machine by a coin or slug attached to a string; to permit disks or washers, as well as coins, which may become wedged in the coin-inlet to be readily removed therefrom, and to effectively arrest at an initial stage of their passage'into the machine coins or slugs of less than the requisite diameter or thickness, as well as those of greater diameter,

it being the object also to return to the depositor imperfect coins. v

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a View in side elevation of a coin-controlled vending-machine equipped with my improve ments, parts being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a front elevation with parts broken away. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing parts in position when moved to effect the discharge of an article of merchandise. Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the coin-guideway plate. Fig. 5 is a sectional view thereof.

' Fig. 6 is an inner face view of the front casting.

- Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the inclosing casing, mounted ona base 2 and having merchandise-holding tubes 8, from which the lowermost packages may be removed by an ejector 4 upon the positioning in the latter be employed further reference to this feature is not necessary beyond calling attention to the fact that the coin is directed into its position in the ejector by falling into a guide or pocket formed by a beveled wall 6.

7 is acasting secured to the front of the casing and equipped with a coin-inlet opening or openings 8, extending therethrough, of size to admit legitimate or proper coins, while to the back of this casting over these openings is secured a plate 9, having depending guide-wings 10. This plate 9 bears against ribs 11 and 12, formed on the rear face of the casting and extending diagonally downward and'to one side of each of the inlet-openings, the ribs 12 being carried at acute angles downward to direct coins within the spaces covered by the wings 10. These ribs are not exactly parallel, being slightly divergent, so that if a disk shouldbecome wedged'in its entrance for malicious purposes is rendered difficult,

if not impossible. The rib 11 at its lower endis slightly rounded, as at 13, so that should it be attempted to manipulate the machine by a coin or slug attached to a string the latter will be wedged between this rounded corner and plate 9.

l5 designates a plate forming coin-guideways intermediate the coin passage-ways and the ejectors. This plate is pivotally mounted by pins 16, fitted in arms 17, projecting inwardly from casting 7 and in its normal position contacts with the lower ends of ribs 12. Coins will immediately fall flat on the guideways upon engagement with the depending wings 10. A coin of proper value will slide over the guideway and fall into the pocket formed by the beveled wall 6, while a spurious coin will be arrested. The coin-guideways in the plate in addition to their natural longitudinal inclination are each inclined transversely that is, inwardly or toward the center of the plate-and formed with inner and outer parallel walls 18 and 19, between which in the bottom of the guideway is an opening 20. This opening is so positioned relatively to the inner wall 18 that a proper coin hugging such wall in passing over the plate will span the outer wall of the opening, (see dotted lines, Fig. 4 whereas a coin or slug of insufficient diameter will fall short of such outer wall, as indicated in full lines, Fig. 4, and pass downwardly through the latter opening without reaching the ejector. In its travel through its guideway a coin of the proper weight and thickness will engage a shoulder 21 on the under side of a pivoted finger 22, loosely journaled in the walls 18 19, and thereby raise the finger sufliciently to permit the forward edge of the coin to clear a hook 23, depending from the under side of the finger; but if a disk of less than the proper thickness be inserted it will not lift the finger, and hence will be arrested by the hook. Thereu pon when the ejector-rod is pushed inwardly plate 15 will be thrown upwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, and the arrested disk will be caused to fall from the plate. This operation of plate 15 is effected by upwardly-extended arms 24, secured to ejector-rods 5, such arms engaging the wall of a cut-out in the front end of the plate. The ends of the fingers extend beyond the books, as indicated at 25, so that upon the tilting of plate 15 and the consequent elevation of the fingers arrested washers cannot hook over the fingers, but will slide rearwardly off the plate. If a disk be introduced of some material lighter than that of the coin or possessing less resiliencysuch as paper, vulcanite, aluminium, &c.it will not have sufiicient force to raise the finger upon contacting with shoulder 21, but will lodge under it and be discharged when plate 15 is tilted upward. This shoulder is comparatively near the pivot of the finger, while the hook is farther away, with the result that but a slightlifting of the finger by pressure at the shoulder will cause a greater range of movement at the outer end, thus permitting very fine distinctions in the thickness of coins or slugs. Wires 26, extended across the coin-guideways, limit the movements of the fingers when the plate is tilted violently. When a spurious coin or disk falls rearwardly from plate 15, it will tilted.

strike against a chute 27, supported by arms 17, and be directed out through an opening 28 in the front of the casing, such opening being guarded by a lower bulged portion 29, depending from casting 7. Thus coins of insufiicient thickness arrested in the guideways are returned to the depositors.

Near the lower ends of the coin-guideways are stops or pins 30, which offer a slight obstruction to the edges of the coins, slugs, or washers, and thus temporarily impede their momentum. If a washer passes down the guideway, it will be impeded to such an extent thatits center will be beneath the lingerhook 223 at the moment when the impediment occurs. This will permit the hook to enter the hole in the washer, and thus prevent its further progress, and upon the tilting of the guideway the washer so arrested will be discharged backward without having reached the ejector. The inner wall 18 of a coinguideway parallels the outer wall to near its normally lower end, whence such inner wall is curved or deflect-ed laterally a short distance, as at 31, and then resumes its parallelism. In consequence a coin upon contacting with pin 30 will be slightly diverted out of its line of travel, but will leave the guideway on a straight line upon engaging the straight end portion of wall 18. The space between the pin and the corner-angle of wall 18, formed by the deflection, is just wide enough to permit a proper coin to pass, while a disk of greater diameter cannot pass, but will be arrested and returned when the guideway is In this way I avoid the necessity of forming the inlet-openings to a nicety, since even should an opening admit a disk of too great a size it will be arrested between the pin 30 and the corner-angle of the guidewaywall. In practice the pins 30 are made of small size and flexible material, so that they may be bent inwardly or outwardly to a slight degree for nicety of adjustment, whereby better results are obtained and a saying is effected in the cost of manufacture.

32 is a magnet secured to the under side of plate 15, the ends of the poles extending beyond the lower end of the guideway and slightly into the plane thereof. It a disk of steel or iron be introduced and succeed in passing the retaining-linger and stop-pin, the lower edge of the disk will be arrested by the magnet, while the upper and outer part will under the momentum continue forward, with the result that the disk will whirl around the end of the magnet, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 1, until it falls sidewise over the lower edge of the guideway and drops without reaching the ejector. To avoid a disk being drawn into contact with both poles and clinging thereto instead of dropping oil, Iprovide a brass ridge or plate 33 between the poles projecting beyond the plane of the lower ends thereof. Thus it will be noted that disks or washers arrested by the magnet are deviated out of arresting spurious coins, disks, and washers arepreferably formed on one plate. Hence whether coins beinserted in but one or both inlets both guideways are tilted at each operation; but it is obvious that, if preferred, each guideway might be independent of the other.

I claim as my invention 1. In a coin-controlled machine, a casting having a coin-inlet opening extending therethrough, and also having a groove or recess intersecting one side of such opening,slightlydivergent ribs leading from such opening on the inner face of the casting .and forming a passage-Way of gradually-increasing width, and a plate secured to such casting extending over said openings and over the passage-way between the ribs.

2. In a coin-controlled machine, a casting having a coin-inlet opening extending therethrough,ribs leading from such opening forming a, coin passage-way leading diagonally downward form such opening, one of said ribs being rounded at its lower end, and a plate secured to the inner face' of such casting extending over such opening and passage-way, and also over said rounded end so that astring 7 attached to a coin will be caught between said rounded end and the plate, as set forth.

3. In a coin-controlled machine, an inclined pivoted plate having a coin-guideway whose bottom is inclined transversely to the line of passage of a coin, a slot or opening being formed in the bottom of said guideway in such relation to the lower side thereof that a coin or washer of insufiicient diameter will fall therethrough, and ejector mechanism having means for effecting the tilting of such plate at each operation.

4. In a coin-controlled machine, an inclined pivoted plate having parallel wallsforming a guideway whose bottom is inclined transversely of the plate toward one of said walls, a slot or opening being formed in the bottom of the plate of such distance from said latter wall that a coin or-washer of insufficient diameter in contact with such Wall will fall through said slot or opening, and ejector mechanism having means for effecting the tilting of such plate at each operation.

5. In a coin-controlled machine, an inclined plate having a coin-guideway, a device pivoted in said guideway for arresting a disk or coin of insuflicient thickness, and means designed to be engaged by a coin of proper value and thickness for moving such device to an extent to prevent the arrest thereby of such coin.

6. In a coin-controlled machine, an inclined plate having a coin-guideway, a pivoted finger extended longitudinally of such guideway having a hook for arresting improper coins or disks, and means actuated by a coin of proper value and thickness for moving such finger so that it will not arrest such latter coin.

7. In a coin-controlled machine, an inclined plate having a coin-guideway, a pivoted finger extend ed longitudinally of such guideway having a hook for arresting improper coins or disks, and a shoulder near its pivot between which shoulden and the guideway coins, &c., must pass, said shoulder being nearer the pivot of the finger than is the hook.

8. In a coin-controlled machine, an inclined plate having a coin-guideway, a stop therein for temporarily arresting a coin, slug or washer, and a pivoted finger extended longitudinally of the guideway having a hook on its under side in near relation to such stop.

9. In a coin-controlled machine, an inclined pivoted plate having a coin-guideway inclined longitudinally and transversely of the line of passage of a coin, a magnet whose pole intersects the plane of such guideway so that a slug or washer attracted thereby will be whirled out of the usual line of travel, and means for jolting the pivoted plate at each operation.

10. In a coin-controlled machine, an inclined pivoted plate having a coin-guideway, means 1 for defiecting a coin, slug or washer, before leaving such guideway, a magnet whose pole intersects the plane of such guideway at the lower end thereof, and a non-magnetic stop intermediate the. poles of the magnet to prevent a slug or washer whirled by one pole from being attracted by the other pole, as set forth.

-11. In a coin-controlled machine, a pivoted plate forming an inclined guideway, means for arresting spurious or imperfect. coins in such guideway, means for reversing the direction of inclination of said plate, and means for directing the discharge of such arrested coins through the front of the machine. 12. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with the coin-inlet and the ejector, of

a pivoted plate forming an inclined guideway, intermediate the coin inlet and e ector, means for arresting spurious or lmperfect coins on such guideway, means carried by the ejector the coin inlet and ejector, means in the guide- Way for arresting spurious or imperfect coins, and an arm carried by the ejector-rod for turning said plate on its pivot to allow the arrested coins, &c., to fall rearwardly therefrom.

14. The combination with the casing having an opening, and a chute leading to such opening, of a plate forming a coin guideway, means for arresting spurious or imperfect coins in such guideway, an ejector, an operating-rod therefor, and an arm carried by such rod for engaging said plate and reversing the inclination thereof to allow the arrested coin, &c. to fall onto said chute and out through said opening.

15. The combination with the machine having an outlet-opening and a casting formed from into said outlet-opening of coins, &c., arrested in said guideway.

16. The inclined coin-guideway having inner and outer walls, one of which is on a lower plane than the other, and a pin extending upwardly in such guideway in such relation to the lower wall as to arrest a coin, &c., of too great diameter, such pin being capable of being bent inwardly or outwardly.

17. The inclined coin-guideway having inner and outer walls, one of which is on a lower plane than the other, such lower wall having a deflected portion, and a pin extending upwardly in such guideway in such relation to the corner of such deflection as to arrest a coin, &c., of too great diameter, such pin being capable of being bent inwardly or outwardly.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MAURICE HOFHEI Mlflhi.

Vitnesses:

VILLIAM A. COPELAND, J. A. GUBIAN. 

